Credit markets are cracking up as liquidity evaporates, according to Jill Shah, who covers leveraged finance for Bloomberg News in New York. Small businesses are struggling to borrow, distressed debt has surged, defaults are ticking up, banks have tightened lending standards and bankruptcies are on the rise, particularly in construction and retail. In this episode of the Credit Edge Podcast, Bloomberg News senior editor James Crombie asks whether this is all bad for the US economy. Bloomberg Intelligence credit analyst Robert Schiffman, meanwhile, says he’s never been more bullish about the technology sector, despite all the fundamental headwinds. First-quarter earnings are showing signs of a turnaround, the biggest companies are generating a lot of excess cash and the outlook for investors is bright, Schiffman says.